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BLCA c25s01
Text "That's very good, Scarlet Sage." Scrivener Blooms said softly, stroking a hand gently down the back of the Pegasus filly as they sat together on a high balcony above the northern doors of the Garden. The filly blushed a little as she glanced up at him, and he smiled lovingly at her as he rested a claw on her shoulder, saying quietly: "I'm proud of you." Scarlet Sage nestled herself a little closer to her father at these words, closing her eyes with a warm smile of her own as she pressed against his cloaked side. Twilight Shadow sat on the other side of the the filly, a thick black collar with a pearl white clasp sealed tightly around her neck, gorgeously embossed with lunar symbols all along its length. She glanced down at Scarlet Sage, then smiled slightly up at Scrivener when he looked over at her with amusement that turned to tenderness when she said gently: "You're a good dad." "Yeah, well. You're a good second mom." Scrivy replied after a moment, and Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes as Scarlet Sage blushed and hit him lightly, and the male laughed and shook his head with a grin, gazing back down into the fields of the Garden. "Hey, I had to break the tension somehow." His eyes settled on Luna, who was grinning herself as she leapt back and forth, sparring with three of the Ivory Elite: the hulking, powerful golems were no match for her despite their superior size and strength, however, Luna easily catching one that tried to pounce on her with her front hooves and slamming it face-first into the ground before she swung a rear hoof backwards into the face of another, and Scrivener licked his lips slowly as he felt her excitement, her exhilaration, her pride... and her pleasure in showing off for the small audience of her family as he murmured: "I am definitely very glad I get to watch from this angle these days, though." Then he shook his head a bit, trying to push away the excitement before it became a little too much, and he instead turned his eyes back to his daughter as he said gently: "I think you're ready to start doing longer-distance flights, though, Scarlet Sage... perhaps we can all head out to Fluttershy's cottage at some point. I'm sure she misses you, and we might be able to sneak you into Ponyville, see some of your friends." "That's dangerous, Scrivener." Twilight remarked mildly, and Scrivy gave her a flat look, but the undead pony only looked at him seriously in return. "Look, I'm just worried. I'd love to see Fluttershy, but I'd prefer to bring her here over Scarlet going there. As a matter of fact, I would really like to bring Fluttershy here permanently. The last letter I got from her, well... it sounded like things in Ponyville are getting nasty." Scrivener began to open his mouth to reply, and then he heard a throat clear quietly behind him, distracting him. He turned with a grimace... and his jaw dropped at the sight of Celestia standing calmly in front of the drawn curtain. It was enough of a shock that in the field below, Luna halted and looked dumbly up at the balcony, and then she gave a yell of frustration when all three Ivory Elite pounced on top of her, tackling her to the ground. Scrivener winced in pain as well, twitching as a few thin scratches formed over his face and he felt one or two larger ones form under his body, then his eyes flashed as he glared back towards the Garden, and Luna arched her back with a roar of rage, her horn releasing a single powerful pulse as a shockwave tore through the air around her, knocking the Elite flying in all directions as he snapped: "Idiots!" She glared back and forth, the Elite laying in stunned heaps before she huffed and easily took to the air, shaking herself briskly out as she flew up to the balcony. Scrivener had returned his eyes to Celestia, and Twilight Shadow was half-glaring at her as the ivory winged unicorn pointedly kept her gaze down and humble, saying quietly: "I have a request." Twilight Shadow snorted at this, and Celestia visibly fought to keep her amethyst irises from raising towards he violet mare as the stitching along her body flexed and she muttered: "Of course you do. What a surprise..." Celestia didn't speak, didn't respond: a little more than a week ago now, Twilight Shadow had made her last visit to Celestia's quarters, only a few hours after she had gone through her transformation. Celestia had been horrified, had begun to shout and scold her... and had been struck into silence when Twilight, who before had cowered at so much as a harsh word, shouted angrily back and had stormed aggressively forwards, forcing Celestia to shrink back against the bars in horror at not just what Twilight Shadow had become... but the almost-viciousness that had possessed her. "Calm thyself, Twilight. We are family." Luna said gently but firmly, and Twilight closed her eyes and bowed her head grudgingly, sighing a little before the dark-coated winged unicorn shook herself out and added moodily: "Of course, as this goes to show that perhaps thou were exaggerating thy condition a little, I am... irritated myself." "I understand that, and deserve your anger, sister... but maybe I can help. I... had a period of childishness, I have reflected on that now. I also allowed myself to... fall too deeply into my own worries and thoughts." Celestia hesitated, then she smiled a little. "Let me take Scarlet Sage to Ponyville. Atrus, or your Greater Nightmares, can stay stealthily by my side and... I shall accept and wear a prosthetic horn, if you will trust me enough to grant me one last chance with one. I will present myself to them and tell them that... no harm came to me. That you took care of me while I was... unwell... and replaced my horn. And even if they don't believe me, they would never harm Scarlet Sage: she is still a filly. A filly on her way to adulthood, yes, but right now still a filly all the same." Scrivener and Luna both frowned as the Pegasus turned towards Celestia, smiling a little, before Twilight looked up and said quietly: "And what happened to your worries about reassuming the throne, or that the ponies would turn on you?" "I... had time to think things through." Celestia said finally, looking down as shame flashed in her eyes before she said quietly: "And even if... I do still fear this, I also have come to realize that by not letting them see that I live... I will do more harm than good. Because if I am thought to be dead at your horn... they will eventually rise up to attack you. They will eventually make war on you... and I can prevent that. I should, I must prevent that... so... let me go to Ponyville. Let Ponyville see me. And let them see me with your child, so that they know there is no hatred between us despite what happened. Maybe I can teach them. Maybe... this is how I will save them. With a child's love, and a child's graces." She looked quietly down at the filly, and Scrivener softened as he and Luna looked quietly at the hornless equine. For a few moments, quiet spiraled out between them... and then Scarlet Sage reached up and tugged quietly at Scrivener's cloak, gazing up at him and saying softly: "I trust her." "I... I do too." Twilight finally mumbled, and although it was moody and irritated, it was like a flash of the old Twilight, as she hesitantly looked up at Celestia. "But I'm going to come with you as well. I won't go into Ponyville, I'll stay at the outskirts. But I want to be there in case something happens." Luna nodded at this, glancing at Celestia and adding calmly: "And Atrus and two Greater Nightmares shall escort thee, aye. We will take every precaution with this... I will not see my beloved filly harmed. And I worry for what the ponies are capable of..." She glanced softly towards Twilight Shadow, who smiled a little before she shook her own head and said finally: "Things might have calmed down. And as long as... Celestia stays close and by her..." "I will. Trust me, please." Celestia replied quietly, almost desperately, and Scrivener and Luna traded another look before the ivory, hornless equine bowed her head and murmured: "I'm sorry. I... I think I only just recently realized that it's far better to suffer in trying to balance my loyalties than... suffering while trying to run away from them, and I'm only... eager to try and make up for everything that's happened. To you, and to the ponies I... almost abandoned." "Very well." Luna said softly, and then her horn glowed as she tilted her head upwards, closing her eyes and saying calmly: "Cowlick, Ross... my sister requests a horn. Meet us in the Garden. Twilight Shadow, if you would please take Scarlet Sage to get ready for the journey..." "Yes! Thank you, Mom!" Scarlet Sage leapt over and hugged Luna fiercely, and Luna smiled faintly, leaning down and returning the embrace before the Pegasus filly giddily stumbled backwards, gazing back and forth warmly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She laughed, then turned and bounced alongside Twilight as the violet mare smiled despite herself, bumping into Celestia as she passed... but then halting, letting her sides press together for a moment as she glanced at her awkwardly before slowly nodding once. And Celestia nodded back before Twilight moved on, as Luna murmured: "Our filly misses Ponyville... and I think, too, our beloved Twilight misses both the village... and thee. Aye, she is... rougher in tone and texture, but. She is still Twilight." "She is Twilight Shadow now. She's moved forwards, Luna." Celestia replied softly, but all the same, she couldn't stop herself from glancing over her shoulder before she smiled a little and slowly looked up. "I... listen." "No, Celestia. It's alright. We all do stupid things now and then... and even if you did... exaggerate a little, take advantage of things... well, we took your horn. You felt turned on, used, and you had... who knows how much stress bottled up in there." Scrivener smiled a little, shaking his head slowly. "You were entitled to a small breakdown. Just... try not to lose it while you're in Ponyville, huh?" Celestia smiled a little in return, then Scrivener easily turned and leapt down into the Garden below, cloak fluttering up around him and the mire seeming to ripple with his easy landing as Luna rolled her eyes and muttered: "The poet has grown a taste for the theatrical much like mine own. Come, sister. The Moon Blessed will arrive any moment with thy horn. Art thou prepared for a little pain?" "We all have our share of pain." Celestia smiled a little again, nodding slowly, and she and Luna both spread their wings as they leapt over the edge of the balcony, sailing calmly down to the Garden as Scrivy smiled slightly and dismissed the Ivory Elite that were still standing apprehensively around with only a flick of a claw. There was a measuring silence between the three until the Moon Blessed arrived, Ross trailing awkwardly behind Cowlick as she carried a white, crystalline horn in a telekinetic grip beside her, her eyes moody as she strode fearlessly up in front of Celestia and studied her intently before saying flatly: "You break this one, you buy it, hear me? I don't care if you are the Mistress's sister, I'll kick your flank." Celestia actually laughed a bit in response to this as Luna sighed and stepped forwards to gently take the horn in her own telekinetic grip, muttering: "Cowlick, please remind me to wipe thy personality later so we can start fresh. I forgot how obnoxious thou can be." "Do you know how much time and effort it takes to make one prosthetic horn, especially without that Artificer Greece around?" Cowlick asked flatly, and Luna gave her a moody look as Ross winced and awkwardly tapped Cowlick on the shoulder, and the Moon Blessed mare sighed and calmed herself with a slow breath before asking instead: "Where is he, anyway? I thought he and the other Architects worked for you." "Greece prefers to be working on Canterlot right now than in our presence." Luna replied shortly, and Cowlick winced a little at this as Scrivener gave Luna a soft look. "Apparently it is not only ponies whom find my evolution... repulsive." "You're very pretty." Ross supplied, and Luna sighed a little, but smiled all the same as she turned towards Celestia and carefully began to fit the prosthetic forwards into the empty horn base in Celestia's skull, the white winged unicorn gritting her teeth a bit at the sharp bite of pain she felt even with how gentle her younger sibling was. Next, a cloth holder was slipped over the horn, with an adhesive on the bottom: nothing permanent, but that would ensure the horn would be held securely in place for at least a day or so. Celestia had looked uncomfortable for this part, since it required screwing the prosthetic tightly back into the horn base in her skull, and so Scrivener had strode forwards and breathed a numbing cloud of mist over her features... and the rainbow-maned mare hadn't resisted, had in fact looked relieved as the pain had rapidly diminished. When it was secure, Celestia smiled slightly and concentrated... and the crystalline horn lit brightly up before Cowlick rose her head and explained: "That's only one of our middle-range horns, so be careful how much magic you try and channel through it. I mean, your average unicorn probably would have a hard time breaking it, but... you're not an average anything, Celestia. No major magic." "I know. I can feel it fairly clearly... it vibrates, the more magic I focus into it." Celestia replied, and Cowlick nodded once with a grunt of approval. "Thank you." "Hey, doing my job." Cowlick smiled slightly, then she glanced over her shoulder at the sound of rustling through the grasses, watching as Scarlet Sage approached with Twilight Shadow, the latter female clad in a heavy black cloak that covered her body. "Reminds me of that old story. You know. The one about the princess and the evil witch out to steal her youth." "Thanks, Cowlick." Twilight said flatly, and Cowlick grinned as Scarlet Sage giggled a little before the purple mare leaned her head back, her horn glowing as she whistled sharply. A moment later, two Greater Nightmares appeared behind her, both bowing deeply and respectfully to her, and Twilight smiled slightly at this. She hesitated for a moment, but then looked across at the hell-horses, saying calmly: "Stay close to us, and stay invisible. It is important that the townsponies do not see either of you... nor you, Atrus." Twilight's eyes glowed as she glanced with a slight smile past the Nightmares, and although the others couldn't see the demon, the violet mare could: the ability to perceive reality on different levels was one of the perks of her new existence. Atrus, meanwhile, only bowed humbly to her, and then Twilight turned her gaze towards Celestia as the eldritch light faded from her irises, saying quietly: "We're ready. But Celestia... I think I speak for everyone when I say I hope you're on the level." "I... I am." Celestia said softly, her own amethyst irises meeting Twilight's quietly, and then she smiled a little. "Once... you would have trusted me before all others." "Things change." Twilight Shadow replied quietly, a faint hint of bitterness tinging her voice... but also sadness, before she shook her head quickly and glanced down at Scarlet Sage as the Pegasus looked nervously up at her, and a smile creased her features, making the stitches across her face rustle. "It's alright. Let's get moving." Celestia nodded, then bowed her head respectfully to Luna and Scrivener, who both bowed back as the group traded goodbyes and quick affections before Scrivener, Luna, and the Moon Blessed watched calmly as Twilight Shadow, Scarlet Sage, and Celestia made their way through the massive double doors at the end of the hall. As the group walked away, Cowlick stepped nervously forwards, asking slowly: "Mistress... are you sure about this?" "My sister's loyalties? No. But what I am sure is that she is my sister, and she would never, ever harm a hair of Scarlet Sage's mane. Whether she is sane and cunning or insane and moving to some deluded rhythm of her own." Luna said quietly but firmly, her eyes flicking toward the Moon Blessed mare. "But how she behaves today will prove many things... and besides, it is not like we are without certain safety lines." Luna turned around with a smile, and the same expression spread over Scrivener's own features as he turned as well before the female called clearly: "Pinkamena!" For some thirty seconds, nothing happened... and then there was a crackle as black smoke rose up in a sudden burst through the air before the grinning, dull-pink earth pony formed in front of them, steam rising from her body as she leaned forwards and asked mildly: "What the hell do you two want? I don't got long, I told Pinkie I was heading back into the kitchen for a coffee." "You still haven't told her?" Scrivener quirked an eyebrow at her, and Pinkamena gave him a dark look in return, the male clearing his throat and reaching up to adjust his glasses awkwardly. "Forget I said anything." "Why the hell do you wear those fakes still? They make you look like a nerd." Pinkamena said shortly, and Scrivener glared at her before the demon rolled her head on her shoulders as her eyes roved towards the Moon Blessed. "You guys got a worse deal than me, by the way. Nothing beats being able to turn incorporeal. Except maybe possessing people you don't like." "Pinkamena, Scarlet Sage is going to town with Celestia today. Please keep an eye on them both... we already have sent an escort of Greater Nightmares and Atrus as well as Twilight Shadow, but she shall only be walking as far as the outskirts. Ponyville threw her out while she was still a pony... I do not want to imagine what foul-minded Applejack would try and do to her now." Luna grimaced a bit, shaking her head moodily. "I'm still surprised they did not make thee the scapegoat." "Well, think about it. All they know is that I'm the evil twin of Pinkie Pie." Pinkamena shrugged, looking moody. "Unlike Twilight, I was always rude to everyone, including you two. I was a wild cannon, an unknown quantity, you get it? Twilight, though... she was always openly dedicated to you two. Always trying to spend time with you two. Maybe they even suspected that one day things would end up like this... her giving her soul to you. The ultimate toy for your desires... now Twilight, she's got it goddamn made... invincible, able to put herself back together, little pain and lots of pleasure. Guess her only problem is that she's dead... but that doesn't seem to bug you two, does it?" "Go away, creature." Luna said irritably, and Pinkamena grinned widely as she began to fade from sight before Luna added disgustedly: "And she is no cold corpse, either. She may not be alive, but she is far, far from dead." "Yeah, yeah. Keep splitting hairs if it makes you feel better." Pinkamena said dismissively before she faded completely from sight, and Scrivener Blooms grumbled a bit before the demon's voice echoed mockingly around them: "Maybe I'll test for myself just how alive she is." Luna only snorted in amusement at this, however, muttering: "That would be the day. In the past, perhaps, Pinkamena may have actually been strong enough to put up a fight against Twilight... but the Twilight of the here and now far outclasses an obnoxious demon." Ross and Cowlick both smiled up at this, and then Luna shook her head before saying finally: "Moon Blessed, prepare us a bath. Scrivener Blooms and I shall take the rest of the day to relax... thou may attend to us while we do." "Thank you, Mistress Luna." Ross said softly, bowing his head, and Cowlick smiled wider, mimicking the motion before they turned to hurry off on their task. And Luna and Scrivy both smiled despite their apprehensive worries for what was going to happen, and whether or not Celestia's motives were as pure as she had made them out to be, or veiled some other hidden purpose. Top ↑ Category:Transcript Category:Story